Demarcus Cousins SUSPENDED

[RIPskaterdude]

One source said Cousins and Green argued in the locker room, with Cousins telling everyone he wanted respect, regardless of his rookie status.

Damn straight.

[RIPskaterdude]

Also, may I ask why the sudden turning on Tyreke Evans? I thought Kings fans were higher on him.

We still like him but the fact that he's not learning is really annoying. What infuriates us is combining that with what seems to be a complete lack of responsibility.

Maybe the Kings just need a stronger veteran presence on the team to show leadership and a coach that can hold his guys accountable.

Oh believe me, that's EXACTLY what most of the Kings fans want (especially the coach part). The Kings have no real veterans on the team (other than Garcia), and Cousins knows this, so he's trying to step up as the leader. The problem is, Westfail is harder on Cousins than anyone else on the team.

[Indy2thaWindy]

They need to hire Charles Oakley to b*tch slap Cousins.


No rookie should be half the trouble this wannabe tough guy DeMarcus is.

Or better yet, they should trade him to the Bobcats to let Oakley slap him.

Only thing Kings would trade Cousins for is the second coming of Chris Paul.

but you wouldn't give up Augustin would you?

[SacKingZZZ]

Cousins is a rookie. He should STFU. He might not be guilty but he has a rep and should know better.

Even though Cousins is right, it's just time for him to understand that he needs to keep his mouth shut and certainly NEVER get so heated that things boil over like this. With that said, for every fan that saw what happened tonight, you have to understand that what happened at the end of the game happens almost EVERY game. Terrible coaching calls late, terrible guard domination late, etc. etc. When this team has gone to Cousins late it's yielded more success. Still, settle down rook, carry your b*tch bag, and chill.

[dub81]

You think Cousins is the only player that took a swing at another player? It happens. Basketball is an emotional sport.


What the Kings lack is a proven veteran on that team that been there and done that and i think they will be a lot better. Tyreke get's away with a lot of stuff because he knows that it will never be an punishment.

I got Cousins back.

[SacKingZZZ]

The Kings also lack a coach that has a complete grasp on handling difficult personalities and executing plays that exercise the strengths of his players.

[Indy2thaWindy]

SacKingZZZ, it seems like you're tryin to make it out as Tyreke has no involvement in those late game collapses. It's not all on Westphal. Evans needs to play better too. That was a terrible shot to end the game.

[RIPskaterdude]

SacKingZZZ, it seems like you're tryin to make it out as Tyreke has no involvement in those late game collapses. It's not all on Westphal. Evans needs to play better too. That was a terrible shot to end the game.

But Westfail completely supported that it was the right shot. Watch the post game interview...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXw5kKNuWuI[/youtube]

[Indy2thaWindy]

SacKingZZZ, it seems like you're tryin to make it out as Tyreke has no involvement in those late game collapses. It's not all on Westphal. Evans needs to play better too. That was a terrible shot to end the game.

But Westfail completely supported that it was the right shot. Watch the post game interview...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXw5kKNuWuI[/youtube]

He's walking around it, but he didn't want that shot. He wanted Casspi or Udrih to get the three. He said he wanted to attack when he got the ball in. Tyreke did a couple hesitations and shot up his junk shot. I'm nit sayin he's a good coach, but that shot I'm sure was all Tyreke.

[darth_federer]

SacKingZZZ, it seems like you're tryin to make it out as Tyreke has no involvement in those late game collapses. It's not all on Westphal. Evans needs to play better too. That was a terrible shot to end the game.

But Westfail completely supported that it was the right shot. Watch the post game interview...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXw5kKNuWuI[/youtube]

Yeah I think this is based on previous events where he publicly embarrassed Evans and Tyreke didnt like it.

In a 107-104 loss to Utah on Monday night that now goes down as Sloan's last victory, Evans' poor late-game decision making was enough to set Westphal off in the locker room afterward. He struggled to react to the Jazz's zone defense, over-dribbling and stubbornly waiting for a clear path to the basket rather than, as Westphal later noted privately, passing and cutting so as to keep the offense moving.

The Kings were limited to seven points in the final 6:35 of play, and Westphal let his frustrations with Evans be known in front of the entire team once it was all over. But Evans -- who would leave minutes later without speaking to the media -- didn't take kindly to the criticism. He fumed at his locker, mumbling his disagreement under his breath before Westphal asked him, to no avail, to speak up.

"He said what he felt," Evans told me on Wednesday of Westphal when asked about the postgame scene. "It is what it is. I could've been a smartass (and) cussed him out. I could've said something back, but I wouldn't be professional. He's the coach. I'm going to respect the coach. If I had something to say to him, just have a meeting with him tomorrow and say what I had to say."

Which is precisely what happened a day later. But while Evans wasn't looking to discuss the matter any further, Westphal went to great lengths to smooth things over.

"We had a meeting in the office, and he told me he wasn't throwing the trucks at me (Editorial note: I'm assuming that's a vague under-the-bus type reference)," Evans said. "He just said he wanted to let the team know that he'd get on me too and not just the other players. I agree with him. I have no problem with him. I had six turnovers (in that game). Still played a good game, but at the end of the day those turnovers caused a loss.

The next game he didnt say a thing

His wish was the Kings' command one game later, when the Kings trailed Dallas by two with 12 seconds remaining. Evans had an ill-advised finish once again, driving into traffic and having his shot blocked by Tyson Chandler en route to the Mavericks' 102-100 win.

Yet the tone afterward was entirely different this time around, with player and coach taking a rosy outlook in defeat both in the locker room and in the press conference. Clearly, Westphal decided it was in the best interest of all involved to not push his player too hard.

For better or worse, it was a lesson he had learned long ago while observing a coach still considered by some to be the greatest of all time.

"Red Auerbach knew that Bill Russell was more important to the wins and losses than he was, and he made sure that even though he pushed Bill Russell he didn't push him off the ledge because he (Auerbach) would be going first," Westphal, whose career began in Boston in 1972 when he was drafted by Auerbach, told me on Friday. "That's what coaching is, I think. You have to tell the truth, and you have to make it palatable.

"(Former Detroit coach) Chuck Daly used to say 'the players have to let you coach them. People are buying the tickets to watch the players play, not to watch the coaches coach.' At the same time, the players need direction and most of them want a strong coach giving them that direction because it is a team game. Superstar or not, it is a team game and somebody has to say we're going to do this and not that."

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/02/12/the- ... -the-show/

Idk man seems like a mess. I dont know who the headcase is or if there are any but seems like a lot of immaturity. The worst part is that its the two best and most promising players on the team.

[HootieRules]

Why haven't they fired Westphal yet? That team is just a mess.

[KF10]

I wouldn't say the team is in a mess. But they have a critical problems of finishing games. MORE than half the games this season, came down to the last possession and the Kings finds ways to blow it. I can understand this because most of this is due to inexperience and lack of focus. But if you keep repeating the mistakes over and over again, a guy like Cousins will say something.

This is on BOTH the players and the coaches. Everyone is responsible to these late game collapses.

[SacKingZZZ]

SacKingZZZ, it seems like you're tryin to make it out as Tyreke has no involvement in those late game collapses. It's not all on Westphal. Evans needs to play better too. That was a terrible shot to end the game.

Some of the late game coaching calls are two specific incidences where the team went for an alley oop attempt from out of bounds when there was technically enough time of the clock to take a standard shot. Also, bad play calls or going to play calls that haven't yielded much success in the past repeatedly as well as avoiding what's working have been a running theme this year.

Evans has taken some bad shots at the end of games this year, but I don't know if that was one of them. He was open, and once again, unless you've seen these games where the Kings lose at the end there have been more than a few situations where there wasn't even a real look let alone a good one. That was probably one of the better looks at a good shot they've had in awhile.

[RIPskaterdude]

The problem with the Kings is, they've actually been very competitive lately. I think they are 8-18 in games decided by less than 8 points (something like that). Also, in like 30 losses, they were tied or leading in the 4th quarter. Usually this would be a sign of a team improving, but I think that they'll never get over that final hump until Westfail is gone. Until then, their talent will keep them close, but when it comes to drawing up a final play and having the players ACTUALLY run it, the Kings will continue to fail.

[SacKingZZZ]

SacKingZZZ, it seems like you're tryin to make it out as Tyreke has no involvement in those late game collapses. It's not all on Westphal. Evans needs to play better too. That was a terrible shot to end the game.

But Westfail completely supported that it was the right shot. Watch the post game interview...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXw5kKNuWuI[/youtube]

Yeah I think this is based on previous events where he publicly embarrassed Evans and Tyreke didnt like it.

In a 107-104 loss to Utah on Monday night that now goes down as Sloan's last victory, Evans' poor late-game decision making was enough to set Westphal off in the locker room afterward. He struggled to react to the Jazz's zone defense, over-dribbling and stubbornly waiting for a clear path to the basket rather than, as Westphal later noted privately, passing and cutting so as to keep the offense moving.

The Kings were limited to seven points in the final 6:35 of play, and Westphal let his frustrations with Evans be known in front of the entire team once it was all over. But Evans -- who would leave minutes later without speaking to the media -- didn't take kindly to the criticism. He fumed at his locker, mumbling his disagreement under his breath before Westphal asked him, to no avail, to speak up.

"He said what he felt," Evans told me on Wednesday of Westphal when asked about the postgame scene. "It is what it is. I could've been a smartass (and) cussed him out. I could've said something back, but I wouldn't be professional. He's the coach. I'm going to respect the coach. If I had something to say to him, just have a meeting with him tomorrow and say what I had to say."

Which is precisely what happened a day later. But while Evans wasn't looking to discuss the matter any further, Westphal went to great lengths to smooth things over.

"We had a meeting in the office, and he told me he wasn't throwing the trucks at me (Editorial note: I'm assuming that's a vague under-the-bus type reference)," Evans said. "He just said he wanted to let the team know that he'd get on me too and not just the other players. I agree with him. I have no problem with him. I had six turnovers (in that game). Still played a good game, but at the end of the day those turnovers caused a loss.

The next game he didnt say a thing

His wish was the Kings' command one game later, when the Kings trailed Dallas by two with 12 seconds remaining. Evans had an ill-advised finish once again, driving into traffic and having his shot blocked by Tyson Chandler en route to the Mavericks' 102-100 win.

Yet the tone afterward was entirely different this time around, with player and coach taking a rosy outlook in defeat both in the locker room and in the press conference. Clearly, Westphal decided it was in the best interest of all involved to not push his player too hard.

For better or worse, it was a lesson he had learned long ago while observing a coach still considered by some to be the greatest of all time.

"Red Auerbach knew that Bill Russell was more important to the wins and losses than he was, and he made sure that even though he pushed Bill Russell he didn't push him off the ledge because he (Auerbach) would be going first," Westphal, whose career began in Boston in 1972 when he was drafted by Auerbach, told me on Friday. "That's what coaching is, I think. You have to tell the truth, and you have to make it palatable.

"(Former Detroit coach) Chuck Daly used to say 'the players have to let you coach them. People are buying the tickets to watch the players play, not to watch the coaches coach.' At the same time, the players need direction and most of them want a strong coach giving them that direction because it is a team game. Superstar or not, it is a team game and somebody has to say we're going to do this and not that."

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/02/12/the- ... -the-show/

Idk man seems like a mess. I dont know who the headcase is or if there are any but seems like a lot of immaturity. The worst part is that its the two best and most promising players on the team.

Might be a bit of a dead horse by now, but those who forget history are doomed to repeat it :cough: Seattle :cough:. Not the first locker room stuffed with "difficult" personalities that has crumbled underneath his watchful eye. Just sayin'.

That criticism of Tyreke Evans is actually the first time he's done that. He's jack hammered Cousins via his post game in the past though, much more than Evans.

Still, these players can't afford to let his be a "me vs. them" thing. In the past I have noticed the downright blatant ignoring of Cousins while he's rolling while Westphal does indeed use his SYSTEM based guard "probing" strategy, which is even how he's put it! But it shouldn't come to this. Hopefully this is blown up to more than it is.

We will see what Geoff Petrie decides to do tomorrow. If this is indeed Cousins' fault I see a rather lengthy suspension for him and one very disappointed mother.

[SacKingZZZ]

The problem with the Kings is, they've actually been very competitive lately. I think they are 8-18 in games decided by less than 8 points (something like that). Also, in like 30 losses, they were tied or leading in the 4th quarter. Usually this would be a sign of a team improving, but I think that they'll never get over that final hump until Westfail is gone. Until then, their talent will keep them close, but when it comes to drawing up a final play and having the players ACTUALLY run it, the Kings will continue to fail.

It should be noted however that Westphal has gotten better in some areas and has at least made attempts at tossing some of the things he was doing that weren't working and starting to piss players off. Like the 12 man rotation thing, jeez, that was a nightmare.

[WetDreamTeam]

So he's suspended until the ASB?

I want to see him start a fight with Tyreke during the rookie/sophomore game.

[SacKingZZZ]

Not necessarily, Petrie is going to decide that tomorrow. Report now is that there's a chance he's shipped off to Phoenix tomorrow and could play in the game.

[darth_federer]

They cant suspended him more than 2 games I think. The union will get involved then.

[SadKingsFan]

So Donte Swung at him and argued with him, but Cousins gets punished? WTF? Its almost like the Kings want Cousins Image to continue to suck. They need to keep this crap behind closed doors. All this does is give haters false hope and ammunition to call him the bust that they predicted he would be.